Treating apparatus



July 20,1943, UM. CORNELL I 2,324,824

' TREATING APPARATUS [Fi ed July s1 1940 4 Shets-Sheiet 1 Iii" mVENrdi v MEAD coausu.

ATTORNEY;

M. CORNELL TREATING APPARATUS July 20, 1943.

Eild July' 51 1940 (Sheejzs-Shegt iNvENToR MEAD CORNELL w M W m ATTORNEYS.

Jul 20,1943, RN L- u2,324,s z4fl I TREATING-APPARATUS Filed July 51 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

ATTORNEY5 mean Jul 20, 1943 corporation of Ohio *ratusfor treating or mixing materials, and more particularly, to improvements in the method and construction illustrated and described in my Let- [ters Patent No. 2,042,880 issued June 2, 1936.

use of a rapidly rotating annular member or disk. The material to be mixed is fed centrally of the rotating member and is delivered ontothe lsuri'ace thereofin a continuous film. This him is ,then centrifugally attenuated by the rotating outer peripheral edge of the rotating member, the construction being such that the continuity fed onto the surface of the rotating member until it is projected from'the ,outer peripheral edge of the rotating member.

tohas proven highly successful, but such apparatus is not readily adaptable-to the mixing 01 wherein the materials to be mixed are fed into not readily adaptable to the preparation of certain asphalt mixtures used in connection; with phalt and naphtha, the asphalt being pre-heated ature to reducethe consistency of the asphalt in road bed in, construction work.

Due to the wide divergence in the viscosities or consistencies of materials such as naphtha and heated asphalt, difllculties would ,be encountered a in the feeding of a continuous iilm of the mixture to the rotating disk .of my prior apparatus for an, attenuating and homogenizing action. {have found that the employment of mixing apparatus to provide an unstable mixture of the materials to be mixedlargely eliminates the difhomogenizef of the characterreferredto for use with such materials. Inot her words, the use widely divergent viscosities enables the employof the film is not broken from the time that it is certain immiscible materials wherein one of the materials, at least, has a consistency or viscosity relatively high as compared to other-of the materials'being mixed. For example, my apparatus,

a commonqmanifold iromseparate sources, is,

highway construction. A common type of such an asphaltmixtu're comprises a mixture of as-' to a temperature of from250 to 400 ,F. to render the same more workable and then mixed with naphtha which is introduced at room temperorder that the same may be readily placed on a nculties of the prior art and readily adapts 11" 2,324,824 resume APPARATUS Mead Cornell, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to The CornellMachine Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a

N E-D STATE-S PATENT, OFFICE,

ment of a homogenizer of the charac terreferred ,to for"converting the unstable mixture 'of im- {miscible materials into a substantially permaapparatus involving the use of the homogenizer In my afore-mentioned Letters Patent, there isdisclosed a homogenizerwhich involves the disk and the attenuated film is collected from the The use of apparatus of the character referred e mm and homogeneous mixture.

Accordingly, one of the principal objects of this invention is to adapt a mixer, of the type employing a rapidly rotating disk to form .an attenuated film, for use with immiscible materials having widely divergent consistencies or viscosities by the provision of pre-mixing apparatus to form an intimate but unstable mixture of the materials prior to their being fed to the rapidly rotating, disk. 7 r

, A further object of this invention is the provi sion of a homogenizer employinga plurality of rotating disks onto which the material to be mixed may be fed for an attenuating action.=

A further object is to provide, in; ahomogen izer of the character refered to, a novel arrangement of mechanism for simultaneouslyfeeding.

the material. to the rotating disks. i

A further object is to provide, in a homogenizer of the character referred to, a novel arrangement of collecting devices against which the at tenuateg film may be projected and conducted away without interrupting the continuity of the attenuated film.

j Other objects and advantages r the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description. q

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related-ends, the invention, then, comprises the showing,

' of the invention, parts thereofhaving been broi ken. away; and nzliagramrnaticalb showing an electrical motor control hook-up;

' the homogenizer unit shown in Fig. thereof having been broken away; Fig. 3 is aside elevational view of a modified p ing device: and t n i H Fig. 4 is an enlarged-vertical sectional view of e the apparatus shown in'Fig; 3, partsthereof havt oi inixing apparatus toiform an unstable mixture of two or more immisc'ibfe liquids havingfeatures hereinafter fully described, andparticularly pointed out in the claims,- the following descriptionand. the annexed drawings setting forth in detail ce; winiiiustrative embodiments of the invention, these being indicative however, ,of but a few of the various ways inywhich the principle 'ofthe invention may be employed.

In the drawings, there is shownseveral prev of the invention. In the ferre'd embodiments Fig. 1 .is aside elevational view of one form a Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view .of 1, parts form of the invention provided with a pre-fmixjing been broken away.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral l indicates as a whole a homogenizer unit comprising a hollow cylindrical container 2 having a top .3 and a bottom 4. An opening 5 is formed in the top 3 through which a drive shaft 6 extends, the drive shaft 6 being provided with an axial thrust bearing assembly 1 carried by a bearing housing 8. The drive shaft 6 is driven from a motor 9 carried by a motor support I mounted on the bearing housing 8, a suitable connection I I being provided for connecting the motor shaft to the upper end of the drive shaft 6.

A hollow drive shaft I2 is rigidly secured to the drive shaftfi for rotation thereby and extends upwardly through the opening 5. A stufling box and packing gland. indicated as a whole by the numeral l3 (see Fig. 4) is provided for sealing the shaft l2 in the opening 5.

l5 by'which they are secured to the shaft l2.

Guard or deflector rings 16 are concentrically positioned with respect to the shaft l2 by means of spacer rings I1 mounted on the shaft I2. The fit between the deflector rings l6 and spacer rin'gs I1 is relatively free to permit axial and rotational movement of the deflector rings relative to the hollow shaft H. The bottom portion of the deflector rings [6 are provided with annular flanges 18 which have a dish-shape opposed to that .of the centrifugal disks l4 to provide spaces l9 at the inner peripheral edge of the centrifugal disks i4.

The outer peripheral edges of the flanges l 8 are adapted to abut against the inner peripheral surface of the centrifugal disks l4 to limit downward movement of the rings IS with respect to the shaft I2 and also operate to impound a quantity of the material to be acted upon in the spaces IS, the material to be mixed being delivered to the spaces l 9 through aligned openings 20 formed in the shaft l2 and sleeves I5. With material beingdelivered to and confined in the spaces I 9,

such material will be fed onto the surface of the When the disks I4 rotate at high speed, the film delivered to the'upper surface thereof will be thrown radially outwardly and axially upwardly by centrifugal force. The construction of the disks I4 is such that the axial displacement of the film will be small as compared to the radial displacement and the film will be maintained in while mechanicaliy supported on one side only and will be projected from the outer peripheral edges of the disks 14 in a film of extreme-thinness.

To collect the fllm projected from the outer peripheral edges of the disks M, an annular deflector ring 2| is provided for each disk 14. The deflector rings 2| are mounted in spaced vertical relation by meansof brackets 22 secured tosupporting members 23 which are in turn secured to the inner side of the cylindrical container 2. The deflector rings 2i are curved so as'to slope outwardly and downwardly with respect to the container 2 in order that the film being protected from the disks l4 will impingeagainst the inner surface 24'of the rings. The film thus projected against the rings 21 will be deflected downwardly and drop down to the bottom of the vessel. The

deflector rings 2| are mounted so as to provide a space 25 betweenthe outer peripheral edges of the disks 2| and the inner surface, of the wall of the container 2. In this manner, each of the deflector rings is operable to direct the film from its associated disk H. to the bottom of the vessel without interrupting. the continuity of the film being projected from other of the rotating disks l4. Any material falling from one of the deflector rings 2| will strike the upper surface of the next lower deflecting ring 2| so as to be directed inwardly toward the side ,of the vessel thereby preventing such falling material frominterrupting the continuity of the film beingproe ject'ed from underlying disks l4.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be noted that the hollow shaft 12 projects through an opening in the bottom 4 of the casing and a suitable packing device 26 is provided for sealing the shaft in thi opening. An axial thrust bearing assembly 21 and housing 28' is provided for rotatably supporting the bottom portion of the shaft I2. In this particular showing, the

material to be mixed is forced from a suitably electrically driven pump 28 through a conduit 29 to the interior. of the shaft I2, the conduit 29 being provided with a fluid-tight connection 30 with the shaft l2. In this manner, the material to be mixed may be forced by the pump" upwardly through the hollow shaft l2 and thence through the openings 20 onto the disks 14 for the final mixing action. I

A discharge conduit- 33 is provided for-withdrawing the homogenized mixture through an opening 34 formed in the bottom 4 of the con- .45 tainer 2. The conduit 33 is connected to an electrically driven discharge pump 35 which is preferably operated at a rate of speed suflicient to withdraw mixed fluid at the same rate of speed as unmixed fluid is being supplied by the supply pump 28. The pumps 28 and 35 are thusoperated to-maintain a constant level of mixed fluid in the bottom of the container'2 which is particularly desirable when the mixing is taking place in a vacuum, a connection 36 being provided for connecting the interior of the container 2 with suitable-apparatus (not shown) for-maintainin a vacuum within the interior of the container 2. To prevent either the motors 28 or 85 from getting ahead of each other and thereby interfering with the level' of fluid to be maintained in the bottom of the container 2, the motors 25 and 35 are respectivelyprovided with solenoid control switches 55 and 31. The switches 56 and 31 are preferably biased toa closed position to 5 maintain the motors 28 and 135 in operation. contact with the upper surface of the disks i4 1 crank lever," for a reciprocatory vane 49 whirling agitat which the heated asphalt is mm In motion to the operating member ll forthe contact 38 upon upward or downwardmovement of theiioat 39. In this manner, when the level'of f fluidin the container 2 drops below a desired point, the float 39 will-move downwardly to effect an inward movement of the switch control 38 5 through the member II to complete the circuit through the solenoid switch 31' to interrupt the l action of the discharge motor 35. Likewise, when the level of the mixture in the container 2 rises above a desired point, the control switch 38 will i be caused to complete the circuit to the solenoid control switch 36 to cause an interruption of the supply motor 28 inorder to interrupt the supply of materials to the container 2.

Referring particularly to "Figs. 3 and 4, it will be notedthat the construction illustrated in these figures is the same as for Figs. 1 and 2 except for the mounting of the bottom of the hollow shaft l2 and the manner in which the material is fed to the shaft [2 In this, construction, the

bottom of the shaft I2 is mounted for rotation ,interlorly of the container 2 by a bearing assem bly 42 carried by a sput connection 43 mounted on a tubular member 44. Packing II is employed to provide a fluid seal for the end of the shaft l2 in the mouth of the split 43. The cylinder 44 provides a. casing for mixing apparatus of. the type illustrated and described in Lichtenthaeler Patent No. 1,496,345 to which reference is made for a more detailed description. Within th mixing chamber provided bythecylindrical member 44 is mounted a perforated sparger 45. Liquid may be fed to the sparger lt by a conduit l6- extendlng through an opening formed in a plate 4'! closing one end or the cylinder 44 isv openas at it for the admission of the material to be mixed with the fluid being supplied through the conduit 46. The 4o spacing the same from the interior of sparger 45 is provided with a spiral or helic'al the cylinder H. In this manner atortuous path is provided for the material entering at 48 and a ing movement will be imparted to this material as simultaneously through the conduit 48 and opening 48, these materials will be intimately mixed prior to being forced upwardly through the interior' ofthe hollow shaft II for feeding onto the.

rotating disks I I. a

The apparatu illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 is particularly well adapted for use in mixing materials such as asphalt and naphtha. The asphalt is first heated and then forced through the opening a while the naphtha is being fed through the conduit 48. The naphtha is fed at room temperature and ordinarily has a boiling point of from 275 to 300-"F. which is substantially equal I to or less than the preferred temperature at this manner, the naphtha will be sprayed into the asphalt to form an intimate but unstable mixture of the asphalt and naphtha. This unstable mixture will then be forced upwardly by the pressure of the materials being fed through the opening ll and conduit 46 through the interior of the the mixing action by converting the unstable mixture into a substantially stable and permanent mixture.

The provision of the pre-m'ixer in the casing 44 enables the mixing function provided by the end of thecylinder II. The other it moves over the perforated surface of th sparger 45. 'Upon feeding materials invention may be employed, change being made a I therefore particularly attenuating action of the rapidly rotatingdisks H to be employed for a wide variety of materials which would otherwise have to .be

mixed by other types of apparatus. Although this pre-mixer has been described in connection with the mixing of materials such as asphalt and naphtha,

it will be understood that the invention involving the use of the pre-mixer maybe employed for materials,- other than asphalt and naphtha, which have widely divergent consistencies or viscosity characteristics.

The operation of the apparatus will be ap parent from the foregoing, and it is suflicient to point out that the operation of'the disks l4 and associated parts to provide the attenuating mixing action will be the same whether the material to be mixed, is supplied from the pump 28 or from the pre-mixer in the casing 44. The apparatus of Figs. 3 and.4, while specifically adapted for use with, materials having widely divergent viscosity characteristics, may also be employed for. mixing materials of the character for which the apparatus disclosed in my afore-mentioned patent was designed. It will also be noted that the apparatus of Figs. -1 and 2 @is particularly adapted for use in connection with the same types of materials,- such as in the blending of ,lubricating oils, having different densities, as in the apparatus of my afore-mentioned patent. In connection with the use of the apparatus of l this invention, it will be understood that the apparatusdisclosed in Figs. 1 to 4 represents animprovement over the construction illustrated in i my prior patent in that the provision of a plu rality of rotating disks I4 and associated ,parts,

including the mechanism for simultaneously r0 tating and feeding thematerialto the disks I4, increases the productionv capacity without the necessity of a material increase inthe power required to efiect the mixing action.

Other modes of applying the principle of the as regards the details described, provided the features stated in any of the following claims, or H the equivalent of such, be employed.

tinctly claim as my invention: 1. The method of preparing a homogeneous mixture of a liquid with another substance which comprises agitating the substance in a a T spray of the liquid to form an unstable intimate mixture, impounding a quantity of said unstable mixture centrally of a rotatingmember, radially displacing said impounded mixture in a continuous fllrn, centrifugally attenuatingsaid continuous film, while mechanically supported on one side only, and then. collecting said film.

shaft I 2 and outwardly onto the disks I4 in a condition which will enable the rotating disks to complete 2. Themethod of preparinga stable mixture of asphalt and naphtha which comprises heating the asphalt to atemperature of from about 250 1'. to about 400' m, agitating the asphalt in a spray of the'naphtha to form an unstable intimate mixture, homogenizing said unstable mix-1 ture by attenuating the same into a film, and then collecting the 3. The method of preparing a homogeneous substantiallystable mixture of a material such as asphalt and aliquid such as naphtha which comprises agltatlngthe material in .a spray of the liquid to form an intimate butunstable: mix ture, homogenizing. such unstable mixture by attenuating the same into a film, and then col-p lecting such film commu.

. point out and dis- 

